Improvement in station-indicators



v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY SHAW, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO LOUIS H. FAIROHILD, OF SAME PLAoE.

IMPROVEMENT IN STATION-INDICATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 154,963, dated September 15, 1874; application filed February 5, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY SHAW, of the city of New Orleans, parish of Orleans and State of Louisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Station-Indicators for Railway-Oars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and correct description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawing making a part of this specification.

Figure 1 represents that portion of my invention which is secured to the inner end of My invention, as before stated, is designed for the purpose of indicating to the passengers of a railway-car thename of the station or crossstreet to which the said car is approaching. It consists of a band or ribbon, A, upon which is printed the names of the stations or streets to be indicated. This band has its extreme ends secured to the horizontal rollers B and 0, respectively, and it is wound from-the one.

to the other, as may be required. Over these rollers and band is secured a cover or shield, D, with an opening, a, in the face of the same, through which the names on the said band may be seen as they are successively brought in rear of it. At one end of the shaft b, to which the upper roller is secured, is keyed a bevel-pinion, E, gearing into the bevel-wheel F, which is keyed to the upper end of the vertical shaft G. To the lower end of this shaft is fitted the bevel-pinion H, which gears into the bevel-wheel I upon the horizontal shaft 0.

' This shaft passes through the frame of the car, and also through a dial-plate, K, which is attached to the outside of the same, and around the face of which is painted names corresponding with those printed upon the band. Before, however, securing the dialplate in position the lever d and ratchet-wheel e are slipped on the shaft 0, the latter of which is rigidly keyed thereto. To the front of the lever is pivoted the pawl f, which engages in the teeth of the ratchet-wheel when it is desired to operate the same. To the end of the shaft 0 is secured the index-finger L, the point of which can be lengthened or contracted, according to the number of circles of names it may be necessary to paint upon the dial-plate, which, of course, will depend entirely upon the length of the road over which the car travels.

The operation of my improvement is as follows: On leaving a station, or after passing a cross-street, the brakeman or driver, as the case may he, moves the lever, and the pawl, which is pivoted to the same, engaging the ratchet-wheel, imparts motion to the whole device. The distance between the names on the ribbon and dial-plate are calculated in relation to one another, so that when the indexfinger is made to point to a certain name on the dial the corresponding name on the ribbon is exhibited through the opening of the shield. As each name is changed a signal is sounded upon the gong 1 by means of the hammer 2, the handle of which is pivoted, as shown at 3. The said hammer is operated by means of teeth cast upon the periphery of the wheel 5. On reaching the end'of the route the ribbon is wound back upon the lower roller by means of the crank 6, the precaution being first taken to throw the pawl out of gear.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is The combination and arrangement, in a street and station indicator, of the rollers B G, ribbon A, vertical shaft G, gear-wheels H I and E F, lever d, pawl f, ratchetwheel 6, indexfinger L, dialplate K, toothed wheel 5, gong 1, and hammer 2, substantially-as described.

HENRY SHAW.

. Witnesses:

H. N. JENKINS, CHARLES M. OATEs. 

